Malay cuisine at its most authentic

Sup Tulang here is hearty and robust.

By Eu Hooi Khaw

AUG 29 – I had a bowl of Sup Tulang and thought it had lots of oomph: the sweetness steeped from the beef bones, with the fragrance of spices like star anise and ginger clinging to it. A slice of tomato, fresh coriander and fried shallots gave it an extra lift. Chunks of potatoes soaked up flavours from the soup.

I was at Baiti’s in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL, for its Ramadhan buffet, and I started right with this soup.

There was the very special nasi lemak and lontong that Baiti’s is famous for, at the beginning of the buffet. I took the lontong, as I did so want to have enough space for the rest of the food staring up at me.

The lontong has a darker orange tinge in its coconut gravy, and is cooked to a family recipe that restaurateur Shahizan Hasnan has attributed to a grand-uncle in Singapore.

The taufu pok soaks up this spiced, not too rich gravy that has hints of fried dried prawns. Long beans, carrots, lots of fried shallots and nasi impit made this complete.

Baiti’s Ramadan buffet costs just RM38 nett, and the variety of food (35 dishes) is mind-boggling. There’s satay, popiah, roti canai, roti jala, Malay kuih and pengat durian that are daily specials, then the main nasi campur that has about 20 dishes.

So much variety in the nasi campur section.

This does not include the ikan bakar – keli, kembong and pari, wrapped in banana leaves that is on the grill. I took a pari with a dip of pickles. The next best thing would be the kembong lathered with sambal.

I made a round of the nasi campur, picking out the chili beef, rendang tok, pucuk paku masak lemak, sambal udang petai, fried chicken, fried fish fillet in tomato sauce, petola or angled loofah cooked with glass noodles in coconut milk, and some fried ladies fingers. I had a very good meal with these.

I loved the rendang tok and fried chicken which we never fail to order in this restaurant when it’s not Ramadan.

Ikan bakar here is as good as it smells.

The rendang tok is especially scrumptious here. The meat is dark, rich and tender. The spices and the seasonings are all perfectly balanced. (This is unlike in some Malay restaurants where sugary sweetness is the dominant flavour, where a peanut sauce for satay can taste like a dessert sauce!)

Baiti’s Ayam Goreng Berempah is well marinated with spices. It is crispy outside, moist inside and delicately flavoured.

I went on to have a pengat durian with pulut for dessert. I was tempted to pack some home to eat the next day. There is pure durian in this thick, creamy sauce, that is lightly sweet and lovely eaten with the pulut.

Baiti’s Ramadan buffet really stands out for its authenticity, variety and value for money. I’d rather eat here than at hotels where the food caters to volume rather than concentrate on home-grown flavours like Baiti’s.

There is something different at the restaurant every day. For instance, you would get nasi minyak on Monday, chicken rice on Wednesday, sup tulang on Thursday and nasi tomato on Friday.

There is a refined touch about the dishes, that don’t have too much oil, salt, sugar or coconut milk, a rare thing indeed in Malaysian cuisine. The recipes that are showcased in the restaurant belong to Shahizan’s mum – she personally supervises in the kitchen too – and it doesn’t get any better than this.

After 9pm in the Ramadan month, you can order a la carte, and you should try the Mee Goreng. The thin yellow noodles are moist, each strand embraced by the spice and chilli paste (a special “warisan” sauce), and egg. Squeeze the small lime over the noodles and they taste so good.

Other dishes you can have here include Masak Lemak Cili Api Udang, Kurma Ayam, Sambal Kerang, Masak Lemak Cili Api Ikan and Mango Kerabu.

On an ordinary day, I would have the nasi lemak, a signature dish at Baiti’s. It is cooked with basmati rice; you get the appetising aroma of santan as the rice is served hot on a banana leaf on the plate, with sambal ikan bilis, fried ikan bilis, serunding, peanuts, hard-boiled egg, pineapple acar and keropok.

For Ramadan, the restaurant is open from 4pm till midnight, which means you can pack food home for sahur. It also does catering.

Baiti’s, which is closed on Sunday, is located at 36 Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-7729 9918, 012-383 0656 (Shahizan), 013-633 5954 (Norizan).